Bravo Group Day 18 / 19 Final Day

So the last few days have been very tiring, exhausting, list of synonyms go here. There has been pelting rain, blistering heat.... and just blisters. We’ve also dealt with various aches and pains including but not limited to: blisters, chafing, cramps, sprains, nausea, sore muscles, bug bites, and arrows to the knees. (Don’t ask what the arrows to the knees are, it’s a metaphorical term).

Anyways, aside from the pain, we learned a lot—not giving up, how to keep going, how to ignore pain. We also learned the importance of camaraderie when facing a difficult and life-changing challenge—160 kilometres over the course of three days.... on foot. Something important that we can also draw from this is that sometimes you can learn more from failure and not making it there than from a successful journey—it can be more fulfilling in a way.

So let’s begin with the first day of the Niagara Falls trek. We set out from HQ t 8:30 and staggered our departures. The morning was cool and cloudy, and we were off to a very good start. Echo team led the pack, while the allied Alpha and Delta team (Team DA.... also colloquially known as Team Dumbledore’s army) brought up the rear. This day was a real challenge—just the starting of a long and hard voyage. Our route took us from Markham into downtown Toronto, where we encountered some challenges regarding the directions we were given, met many a wonderful person who stopped to ask who we were, what we were doing, and where we were headed—they were a great motivation. In the early afternoon, the storm broke, and it poured. The set route took us down along the Lakeshore boulevard/road, all the way to Mississauga. Bravo and Charlie teams reached the motel early, while Team Echo and Team DA reached the destination late at night. Some found the downtown hiking to be too much of a challenge for them to handle, and so we ended the first day with 17/18 people.

The second morning was a killer. All of our aches and pains came back to hit us full force in the dank of the morn. However, as soon as we got moving, and got back into our rhythm, it became easier as we went on. We had a breakfast at the adjacent McDonald’s, then set out at around 8:30 a.m. Teams Bravo and Charlie kept pace with Billy, as did part of Alpha team when they were separated at a stoplight. The remnants of Team DA continued on at their own pace, unwilling to leave any of their members behind. They were joined by Echo team soon, and they made a tentative alliance split a pizza lunch as well as travelled as a larger group for a while. Our injuries became more apparent on the second day—limps becoming more prominent and painkillers seemingly not working—as of such, they slowed us down considerably. There were no dropouts on the second day, despite the grueling 20 hour walk by the remnants of Team DA that went on to 5:00 a.m. on the morning of the third day. The count at the end of day (when we all arrived), was still 17/18 people.

On the third day, we woke at 11:00 a.m.—much later than expected. We tried to stay in one group, moving as a unit, forward at a steady speed. As a result, some people found that they were not able to keep up with this pace, and began to fall behind. But in brilliant displays of resilience, they continued on after the group, sometimes even able to rejoin them. We arrived at Niagara Falls at 2:30, and the ones that had the documentation to cross the Canada-U.S. border stayed behind while the rest went back to HQ.

We waited a while so that those who were crossing could have an opportunity to rest. We ended up watching the sunrise on the US side of the falls. The sky was blue by the time we crossed back over to the Canuck side again. This second group arrived back at HQ at around 8:00 a.m. and we slept for a while to regain some energy. After, we began to bandage up our wounds and pop our blisters. Today is the final day for the Bravo group—congratulations on your achievement, and we will see you again!

Calvin

The hardest 3 days of my life. As challenging as it is, I feel great that I finished the trek. The first day was always the easiest. I did not find it too challenging. The second day was horrible because I developed blisters. The third day was hardest because the blisters grew. I really don’t want to write anyway but I will say this, “Mind over body.”

Ryan Hoang

Today we just finished our Niagra Walk. It was a really hard walk that took us 3-4 days but we did it in the end. During the walk however it was a tiring task required a lot of willpower. Although 4 people in our group feild I suceeded.

Jason Wang

The last 3 days we walked from HQ to Niagara falls, New york. During those 3 days we had to carry all our gear and walk 50 or so kilometers per day. While every one was getting blisters and wounds I only got 2 blisters on the last day because of gravel in my shoe and my stick was rubbing against my thumb. Besides those I didn’t have any major injuries.

Alan

Today the last few days we walked to Niagra falls from the hq. we walked for 3 days. It was very tiering. but at the end we were all very happy. Some of us went to niagra falls new york. the people who din’t go to new york wet back to the hq. at 2:00 am the rest arived at 6:00 am

Jacky

The past 3 days was intense for us, but Tammy the chief administration was chillin and relaxing on her chair while we were blistering in pain. When most of us completed the challenge we felt amazed that we achieved our destination in under 30 hours. On the other hand Tammy was Just sitting don and eating her delicious lunch, while we skipped meals and replaced them with replacement bars. Over all we feel fantastic yet painful.

Edwin Lo

Last three days, I walk to niagara falls. At the first day I almost give up. However I also did it. Oh my god, it was very, very pina. The second days, when I woke up I feet is real real very very pina. When I walk I amost need to fall down. And my friend have my to get my bagpack. At the third days, I walk too slow and because of savety I need to sit on the car. I can’t finish it.

Henry

Today, I had already finish my three days’ niagara fall. First day, I felt very tired. I walked about 50 km. I thought it is very crazy. I arrived to the motel about eleven o’clock. Second day, I felt not too tired but it was about 54 km. I arrived to the motel at three o’clock morning third day, I walked about 50 km, I had already arrived niagara falls, it was very big. I felt very happy, because I didn’t give up although I was painfull. I hope I can keep it up.

Edwin Cheung

These 3 day I start walking from HQ to Niagera fall. I have 14-20 hour walk till night, deep night. I 4 hour of sleep for per day. I learn buggeting and a lot more. I could not follow up on the 3 day afternoon then I catch up. I made it near Niagera fall. I first time walking over night first time. I felt tired

Edwin Chan

Today is the last day of the Monticle program and we had just finished our Niagara walk. We were told to write a blog for the 3 days during the walk. The first day we started at 8 am and got to our first destination at 10:45 pm. The second day started at 7:30 am and thefirst group finished at around 9:30 pm and the last group finished at 4:330 am. As for the third day we started at 11 am and ended at 2 am. Once we reached to Niagara falls we end up waiting 2 hours and then we head out for New York. The time we came back is at 7 am and some people had their blisters poped.

Peggy

Day 16-19 –We walked. For the past 3 days we walked from Monticle HQ all the way to Niagara Falls, USA. It was an interesting experience for us all. Some of us gave up; some of us are injured; many of us got sunburned; all of us would probably love to lie on a bed and not move for the next few days. Some of us had proven tremendous tenacity. Some of us had proven they are robots. [Side note: right now we’re watching blisters being popped. It’s too fascinating to look away ...] Anyway we met many interesting people; some nice; some mean; some made fun f us; some encouraged us. We saw random signs that are funny and encouraging: like a church sign we passed by that stated “Don’t look back, you’re not going that way.” ~ I think that’s all for now~.

Jennifer

It always starts off as a quiet whisper—a niggling at the back of the mind. It speaks with a honeyed tongue, a voice that promises that it can make the aching burn of sore muscles and the sharp sting of blisters go away. “All you need to do is give up. Give up. Give up. That’s right.... give in.”

When you don’t comply, the pain worsens. Everything hurts. There is a dull ache in your joints, it intensifies into a sharp stab every time you put weight on your leg or simply stretch and bend. Every step is agony. When you don’t comply, the voice grows louder, angrier, more demanding. “I said to give up! You obviously can’t keep going on like this. You’re not fast enough to keep up with them. You’re not strong enough—they don’t think you’re strong enough anyway. You might as well give up. Your team is broken anyway—they won’t need you, and you certainly won’t be missed; you owe them nothing.”

It’s easy to refuse. It’s easy to keep refusing. It’s easy to struggle on stubbornly and stumble through the voice and its promises of relief. It’s simple to trudge on blindly and ignore the voice. Pride is my safety net; it will not allow me to succumb to its tantalizing offers nor thinly-veiled threats and malice. But pride is not a painkiller, and when pain meds don’t work, you’ve little choice but to listen to and resist the urge to rise at the voice’s taunts. It takes true strength to accept the voice’s offer. It takes courage to walk over that tightrope and cut off your safety net and take the leap—especially with spectators that are expecting an amazing tightrope performance.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is my pain. I accept it rather than continue to refute it. I know my own limits and I know that I’ve already exceeded it by far.” But falling from such a height is guaranteed to bring its own brand of pain—a softer, duller ache. It is an ache that will make me grow stronger in the long run—dropping out on the third day will have a longer-lasting positive impression on me than if I had succeeded in the walk. I still have a ways to go, and I have to work for the things that I want. Pain is hard to swallow, but failure is by far worse.

So next time, next time I will be ready to counter this voice –I will grow from this experience so that I won’t even need my safety net of pride.

Even though I dropped out, I was able to, with the other dropouts (forced or otherwise) to convince Raymond to drive us to Niagara Falls. I felt like it was a really selfish decision on my part, because I just wanted a chance to finish with my team. But what`s done is done; I crossed the border and finished this with my team.

Ryan Sun

这是我目前人生中最漫长的三天，160公里 我们走了30个小时。暴晒、下雨、水泡、干燥、无聊、煎熬，但我们最后还是做到了，中途无数次的想放弃，每次重新开始走双脚几乎都无法移动，我们用拐杖死命地撑，将自己往前推，接着痛觉就会慢慢消失、然后就继续机械般地往前走。

原来人的意志力是那么的强大，它甚至可以战胜肉体的疼痛。

原来我并没有自己想的那么强壮、也没有那么坚强。

走之前听Billy说的跟自己去亲身体验的真的完全不一样，，听的时候觉得好笑，但真正走的时候才知道是那么的痛苦。

走完之后真的觉得自己以前太娇气，每天从家走到地铁站都觉得累，现在才知道那是多么的轻松。

珍惜现有的一切，不去抱怨生活。

感谢Monticle 所提供的一切，感谢给了我那么深刻的19天。

Cedric

我度过了漫长而又别具意义的三天，我觉得这几天是我来加拿大收获最大的一段经历，也正是我来Monticle 的目的。我不仅学到了什么叫吃苦，更体会到坚持到底的意义，原来精神的力量可以远远超出肉体的承受能力。最困难的不是肌肉的酸痛，最可怕的不是脚下的颠簸，而是在快要放弃的时候诱惑你的一切。

真是要感谢BILLLY提供了这一次机会，因为这一切一切都太难在国内完成。就像他所说的；restart总是the hardest part。总之，这次旅行带给我的实在是一言难尽，回想起这十九天，不管是认识了三位各有所长的导师，还是这一班纯朴善良的同学，我想我永远都忘不了这一次这么棒的经历，祝在MONTICLE与我同行的各位安好还有最美好的祝福

Grace

三天的时间里，我学到了很多。

在开始的时候，我一直在怀疑我是否可以完成，因为我从没有走过那么长的路。但是当我开始走的时候，我一直告诉自己，一定要完成。

最后的一天，是最累的一天，所有的累，所有的苦，都堆积在了这最后的14个小时。我们最后一天走的路大部分是公路，总是看不到尽头。早上的时候，太阳很大，明晃晃的在头上，我们还在走，耳边是我们的脚步声，和拐杖与土地的摩擦声，不时有车从我们身边疾驰而过，几秒便见不到影子，这是总是有一种无力的感觉。但是不能放弃阿。走到一半的时候，我的胃又开始难受，这时就觉得我脚上的伤，脚上的水泡所带来的痛就不算什么了。走着走着，很想放弃，但又不想放弃，这也是我几乎第一次为痛而流泪。觉得很无助，也很感谢我的同伴给我的支持和鼓励我继续，不放弃。到到达的时候，已是凌晨。城市的灯光很明亮，让人觉得有一种由衷的欣喜，美国就在我的对面，似乎触手可及。一路上，billy一直在鼓励着我们，他告诉我们，伤痛若是不去想，就不会痛；最后的时刻，总是最艰难的，但若放弃，你的努力付之东流。

我从来没有体会过这种要告诉自己永不放弃的感觉，希望在未来的时候里，依然可以见到我现今在身旁的伙伴，祝我们每一个人，一生平安，reach到每一个人自己自己的理想。